Wall to Wall Films, New York, has added director/cameraman Kevan Bean, formerly of New York-based Michael Schrom & Company (MS&C).
Bean, 29, started in the commercialmaking business five years ago at MS&C, working closely with his mentor, director/cameraman Michael Schrom. From studio manager, Bean worked his way up to become lighting director, then director/ cameraman.
Bean said that he became fully immersed in the business through MS&C. While grateful for the opportunities he had been given there, Bean felt it was time to break from the place where his career began. He took the summer off to travel and decide where to go next.
Launched in August 1999 by partners/executive producers Paul McCarthy and Eric Calderon, Wall to Wall is in an expansion mode, as evidenced by the signing of Bean. The shop’s other helmers are tabletop specialist/cameraman J. Wesley Jones, Glen Owen and Tel-Aviv-based Lior Har-Lev (SHOOT, 6/16, p. 10).
Bean estimates having visited up to 20 production companies before making his final decision. The atmosphere at Wall to Wall and the approach that McCarthy and Calderon take to the business were decisive factors in Bean’s decision to sign with the company.
Bean is currently in pre-production on two spots via his new roost: a Tide commercial for Saatchi & Saatchi, New York; and a PSA for an education foundation called Overcoming Obstacles via Deutsch, New York. His reel includes a spot for Lucent Technologies’ "Full Deck" via McCann-Erickson, New York, and two spec spots which he wrote, produced and directed: "Lola" for Chanel and "We Wrote the Book" for restaurant guide Zagat.
"Full Deck" shows a hand slowly turning over Lucent Technologies’ business cards, reading them like a deck of tarot cards. The voiceover muses, "Phone calls over the Internet. Listening to e-mails over cell phones? This is getting interesting. Wireless offices? I’d say the communications revolution isn’t just one thing. Anyone who thinks otherwise must not get the game. Lucent Technologies … We make the things that make communications work."
Set to Damn Yankees’ "Whatever Lola Wants," the Chanel spot starts with a splash of soapy water. The camera pans to show a woman taking a luxurious bubble bath while tantalizingly acting out the song’s lyrics: "Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets./ Take off your coat, don’t you know you can’t win./ You’re no exception to the rule; I’m irresistible, you fool. …" The last scene is a wave splashing over a bottle of Allure bath gel.
"We Wrote the Book" takes the viewer on a fast-paced look inside the restaurant Cama Je, in Manhattan’s Soho district. The clip shows quick images of food preparation, the chef adding a final touch to desserts or soups, the waiters carrying the food out and people dining. This is followed by the voiceover: "If you want the best food in New York, there is only one place to turn—Zagat’s. We wrote the book."
Bean’s introduction to the production industry came through his father, Bob Bean, who co-founded the now defunct New York-based production company BeanKahn Films. Initially the younger Bean steered away from the industry and was a business major at the University of Denver, graduating in ’94. Having been on the ski team all through college, he stayed on for another semester as the coach—afterwards choosing between becoming a professional skier or moving back to New York to join the commercials business. He opted for the latter, joining MS&C.
Wall to Wall’s McCarthy and Calderon met Bean through his brother, director Christopher Bean, who is also in the commercials industry, represented by bicoastal MacGuffin Films. "The thing I liked about Kevan’s reel was his sense of style—he has managed to capture some very beautiful moments," said McCarthy. "I think the industry is really going to rise up to greet him because he is so different. He also really embodies what we want this company to be about—a new creative vision with lots of energy executed with style and class."
Wall to Wall Films is a Multi-Video Group-associated company. Other Multi-Video Group-owned and -associated houses are New York-based Rhinoceros Editorial and Post, Rhinoceros Visual Effects and Design, Cool Beans Digital Audio, and Wax Music and Sound Design. Associated international companies are Gravity Effects, Tel Aviv, and Digital Renaissance in Oberhausen, Germany.
Wall to Wall is repped on the East Coast by Benson/Schafler Artists Management, New York; in the Midwest by Lauren McNamara, Chicago; and on the West Coast by Joanne Madden of Joanne Madden, Mill Valley, Calif.
